Stuart Appleby had a third successive Mercedes Championship title in his sights after yet another battle with the wind in Hawaii.

It continued to look as though the start of the 2006 US Tour season had come too soon for some players in Hawaii today.

Australia’s Stuart Appleby feels a magical 59 could be on the cards in this week’s Heineken Classic.

For David Duval it is a heady mixture of feeling ‘‘ecstatic and sick at the same time’’.